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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jonathan Blackburn & Laura Sharman

The upmarket UK town so swanky you'll find £2,000 price tags at its charity shops

A quaint market town is playing host to some of Britain's swankiest charity shops where designer castoffs fetch up to £2k.

Knutsford in Cheshire is a treasure trove of secondhand goods with fashion labels including Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Salvatore Ferragamo – loved by Marilyn Monroe.

Its charity shops are each an Aladdin's Cave full of pearl gowns, fine China, paintings and luxury fashion brands.

The local Cancer Research shop boasts a collection designer suits, dresses, shoes and bags all marked with over-sized labels, reports Cheshire Live.

Famous names include Calvin Klein, Boss, Michael Kors, Kate Spade all written in bold felt tip.

Shop manager Sandra Daniels ran through the myriad of designer handbags locked up in glass cases at the high street charity shop.

A pearly wedding dress is on sale at the British Red Cross in Knutsford for a fraction of its £1,500 retail price (CheshireLive/MEN)

This includes a £200 Kate Spade bag which is priced at £45, a Michael Kors bag with a £65 price tag, and a Mulberry bag also for £65.

“Once we had about 45 Mulberry bags, all at the same time. We had a queue coming out the door,” Sandra said.

The manager then reached for a box inside one of the glass cases in store and revealed a delicate pair of turquoise shoes inside.

"Ferragamo. The type Marilyn Monroe used to wear," she said.

A blue sticker on the sole gave the shoe's current price of £45 while the box still shoes its original price sticker of £345.

The charity shops are located on King Street in Knutsford (CheshireLive/MEN)

Meanwhile the town's Red Cross shopfront is decorated with a wedding dress woven with intricate patterns in pearl.

The back of the dress includes a £550 price tag, compared to the recommended retail price of £1,500, and a note asking shoppers not to touch.

But one of the most expensive items among its row of swanky charity shops is on offer at Barnardo's charity shop.

Store manager Adrian Harrison, 66, produced an oil painting of a charming lakeside cottage and said "this could fetch £2,000."

A pair of oil paintings were donated to Barnardo's which were valued at £3,500 (CheshireLive/MEN)

It is one of two oil paintings donated to the shop by the same generous man, with the other valued at £1,500.

Both art pieces are to be sold at auction and are signed by English artist Alfred Heaton Cooper who was known for his watercolour paintings of the Lake District and Norway, and for illustrating travel guidebooks.

In the shop window, a 1920s fine china tea service is priced at £199 while another painting on the wall is priced at £250.

“It’s like Christmas Day every day,” Adrian said.

“You just never know what’s going to be in these bags.”

Antique silver bowls, blades, tools and utensils are also displayed for sale at the charity shop.

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